God is Trustworthy

-

This post is part of a month-long series reflecting on truths of Who God is through the alphabet and what those truths mean to us in the midst of our foster care journey. You can find the whole series here. 
 “Even if” prayers are hard.

In 2016 NP and I ventured further into the unknown. We had been foster parents for two years, and had had three babies placed with us at that time. Three babies we had loved and hoped for and grieved hard goodbyes.

And then suddenly, God steered us down a path of adoption for an older sibling pair who had been in care for years. Their story gripped us, and while the county dragged the process along for months and months before we had even met them, God continued to confirm this was what He wanted us to do.

Months went by as the agency weeded out dozens of potential families for L&P. We felt like we were being strung along- like this was some crazy adoption version of the bachelor.

We met them. We loved them. We bought bunk beds.

And then suddenly- the county picked the other family. The end. No closure. No answers. Just done. That was a strange grief, a strange goodbye- with no actual goodbye. We felt burned.

We still have no clarity from the Lord about why He took us down that road. Why He kept telling us to go when the end of the road was looming ahead.

But this is what I know- God is TRUSTWORTHY. I can trust Him even when I don’t understand. Even when it seems to make no sense. Even when we feel alone- because we aren’t.

That’s what faith is- believing Him even when we don’t see it. Even when it’s beyond our understanding. Believing He is worthy of trust- even if He doesn’t unfold the plan the way I want Him to.
“I know You're able and I know You canSave through the fire with Your mighty handBut even if You don'tMy hope is You alone”-Mercy Me

Popular posts from this blog

What I wish people knew about our homeschool

-
Image
Many times when people comment to me that they could never do homeschooling, the comment is being made on the heels of an unexpected break from school (extreme cold snap, multiple snow days... a pandemic) when the students are sent home with packets of work to complete at home. I don't know how to fully explain how much  not  like homeschooling that is. I think there is a general misunderstanding of our homeschool life that I would love to clarify. And when I say "homeschool," I'm going to limit my comments to our  experience of homeschooling here at Stephens Academy. Every single family is different, kids are different, there are about a million different curriculum options and methods and variables. But here are some things I wish people knew about us. Homeschooling is not doing "school at home." We don't do worksheets. Ever. Math is the closest you will get to finding my kids working out of a textbook. If you had a live feed into our home, on ...
Read more

On education and setting the table.

-
Image
We are about ready for #StephensAcademy 2020-2021. Even though we’ve done this for over a decade now, every year is a bit different with different ages and challenges and opportunities. This year, we will gather around our “morning time” table with a high schooler, middle schooler, elementary schooler, and preschooler. How do we do that?, people ask. At the center of this room stands a table that NP and I bought used to furnish our first apartment. A lot of meals have been eaten around that table. It’s been a gathering place for years and years. It seems fitting to have our old kitchen table in the schoolroom now, because education is a lot less like an assembly line and a lot more like spreading a feast. No one asks me how we possibly provide food for a family of six. The bigger the family, the more prep might be involved, it might take more time, some might need things cut up smaller or dietary needs taken into consideration. Not everyone likes the same foods to the same extent. But ...
Read more